KAJANG: The Education Ministry and the Education Service Commission have implemented reforms to ensure teacher shortage issues do not recur, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
"We have put an end to the matter to ensure that the issue of teacher shortages can be addressed through various mechanisms, particularly to ensure that the teachers we deploy are of high quality and can specifically meet the needs of our students.
"Together with the Education Service Commission, we have successfully overcome the issue of teacher shortages," she said in her speech during the Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (IPGM) convocation ceremony on Thursday (July 3).
Meanwhile, she also said that applications to the institute continue to rise yearly, showing high interest in becoming educators.
"However, teaching is not easy – it requires a genuine passion for the role, not just academic qualification," she said.
She also said entry pathways into the institute have been expanded to include Sijil Pelajaran Tinggi Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Tahfiz Ulul Albab (TMUA) graduates, reflecting the ministry's push to admit high-potential candidates from diverse academic backgrounds.
The four-day 15th Education Ministry IPG Convocation Ceremony, which started on June 30, involves 5,390 graduates who completed their studies and teacher training at 28 campus IPGs and English Language Teaching Centres.
The convocation ceremony involved students from the June 2021 intake of the Bachelor of Teaching Degree Programme.
